Physics Coursework
Identification of Purpose of Physics
Principles of Physics
. Conservation of energy is defined as a law of physics that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another. It is important because energy is precious. It is mportant to know how much we have and how much we will need to do certain things, to be able to predict how much will be wasted and how we can improve efficiency, or sometimes make the efficiency worse.
At the gymnasium there are many different exercises using weights, cardiovascular machines and sports. It is an important part of the gymnasium to have various types of physical exercise for people of all ages and abilities and so that different muscles can be exercised.
Useful work = mgh
I am going to look at the conversation of energy in relation to certain exercises being performed in a gymnasium. During an exercise, energy from digested food is turned into kinetic energy for the exercise to be performed – after all, all exercise is movement. The energy is not created or destroyed during this process but is converted for it’s specific purpose. The energy is on tap: it is created only when it is needed, the mechanism being the metabolisation of glucose in it’s various forms, the body's fuel. This can happen in one of two ways – anaerobic or aerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration is more efficient than anaerobic respiration but if there is a shortage of oxygen or energy cannot be produced fast enough anaerobic respiration may of necessity take place. The human body can be treated just like a machine as far as it's efficiency is concerned. We can estimate the amount of energy consumed by measuring the oxygen intake, since for sustained exercise oxygen intake is directly related to energy produced.